People in Cornwall could soon be able to buy one ticket which will give them access to rail, bus and ferry services.

The One Public Transport System for Cornwall is aiming to be launched by the end of the year and is a key part of Cornwall Council's devolution deal with the government.

It is aiming to bring together public transport in Cornwall and make it easier for residents and visitors to use in the county. Details of the project's progress went before the council's economic growth and development overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday (April 24) morning.

One of the major elements is the introduction of a half-hourly rail service between Penzance and Plymouth which would vastly increase the amount of train services in Cornwall.

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Figures provided to the committee show that there would be 35 services a day stopping at St Austell, Truro and Redruth compared with 24 currently.

The system will also see contactless payments being accepted on public transport, something which has already been introduced on some buses in Cornwall since the new year.

Those payments could be made using debit cards and mobile phones and also smartcards similar to those used for the Oyster card system in London.

GWR's new trains are set to come to Cornwall soon

And there will also be an app that people can use on mobile devices which will help them to plan their journeys on public transport giving the best methods to take and also providing access to timetables and other travel information. The app is expected to be rolled out in June.

The scrutiny committee welcomed the work which had been done on the project but there were concerns about some of the practicalities.

Committee chairman Bert Biscoe said that he was concerned whether the train services would align with bus services so that people could make a seamless link between the two.

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Nigel Blackler, head of transportation, waste and environment at Cornwall Council admitted that it was difficult to align timetables for different transport.

He said: "It is difficult as the majority of train services starting in Cornwall go beyond and go to London, so we don't have ultimate control over the timetabling because the train services have to fit into the national network."

Mr Blackler said that the council had told train operators GWR what they were aiming to achieve and said that as the council does have control over bus services it can bring that side in more easily.

There could soon be one ticket for buses, trains and ferries in Cornwall (Image: Wikipedia)

Mr Biscoe was also keen to know if the integrated transport system could also see additional branch line services being opened in Cornwall, suggesting that a line to Helston could be one possiblility.

Mr Blackler said that the council's work on supporting other branch lines - such as the Truro to Falmouth line - and the success of those projects meant that it could be a possibility.

However he said that would be a more long term project and something that would be looked at once the One Public Transport System was up and running.

As well as the services that Cornwall Council was investing in the committee also heard about the investment made by bus and rail operators in the county including First Kernow providing new buses at a cost of £7.4million.